A Big Name for Federal Building in Midland, Texas

“The George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush United States Courthouse and George Mahon Federal Building” would be the new name of the federal building in Midland, Texas, under a a bill that passed the House Transportation Committee this week.

The bill would make the Midland building one of the first things in the U.S. to be named after George W Bush. (The elder Mr. Bush has plenty of honors, including an airport.) It joins a George W. Bush Highway in McGregor, Texas, the George W. Bush Little League Leadership Training Center in Waco and the George W. Bush Elementary School in Stockton, Calif. And in Georgia – the country, that is – there’s another George W. Bush Highway.

The Dallas Morning News reported that the shared honor comes about because the federal building is currently named for George Mahon, a Democratic congressman who represented the Midland district for 22 consecutive terms, including eight as chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.

The younger Bush won the Republican nomination to succeed Mr. Mahon, but lost in the general election. Mr. Mahon, who retired in 1978, died in 1985.